Tatooine.

Leia was still wiping her hands clean when she entered the kitchen. Her aunt offered her a glass of milk as she sat down. Uncle Owen had been so busy in the fields this morning, he hadn't noticed his niece's new hairstyle. "Did you do that yourself?" He asked, pointing his fork at her head.

"Uh, yeah, actually." Leia smiled. "It's easy to do, and keeps your hair out of your eyes."

"I like it. Looks good on you."

"Thanks." Leia's smile grew wider. Her uncle was often rough around the edges, but she knew he truly loved her. "Hey, I think those new droids we got this morning might have been stolen."

"What makes you say that?"

"I found a recent recording inside the R2-unit." She explained. "Someone asking for an Obi-Wan Kenobi." Owen and Beru shared a quick glance, unnoticed by the young woman. "I was thinking, maybe he meant Old Ben Kenobi. That old hermit who stopped the Hutt's from stealing our water. What do you guys think?"

"That old man is crazy." Owen replied. "Tomorrow, I want you to take that droid to the trader's den and have its memory erased. That'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now."

"But… what if this 'Obi-Wan' comes looking for it?"

"He won't." Owen shook his head. "He doesn't exist anymore. He died around the same time as your father."

Leia's head snapped up. "He knew my father?"

"I told you to forget it." Owen said, sternly. Internally, he cursed himself. He hated that he could never tell her about her heritage, especially since she had been teased by all of her peers for not knowing her own parents.

Against her better judgment, Leia changed the subject. "Y'know, I think those two droids are gonna work out great. I really do. And, uh…" She stirred the vegetables around her plate as she tried to find the right words. "I've actually been thinking about our agreement. About me staying here through the next season. And, well, if these droids do work out okay, I wanna go ahead and submit my application to the Academy this year."

"You mean the next semester, before the harvest?" Owen sounded hurt.

"Sure! Why not? We have more than enough droids!" Leia pressed on. "The Imperial Academy is a great way to see the galaxy! They'll help me find a job so that I can pay for myself, and they provide dorm space. I promise I'll visit every chance I get!"

"Harvest is the time I need you the most." Owen replied. "Leia, we've talked about this. After this harvest, we'll have made enough money to hire more help and then you can submit your application next year. You must understand, I need you, Leia."

"But it's a whole year!" Leia whined.

"It's only one more season."

"Yeah, that's what you said when Biggs left." Leia dropped her utensils and marched out the door.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Owen snapped.

"I'm not going anywhere." Leia deadpanned. "Pretty sure we established that."

"Hey! I do not appreciate your tone, young lady! LEIA!" It was no use, the young woman had already climbed up the steps into her room. Owen sat back down at the table, noticing his wife's gaze. "What?"

"Owen, you can't keep her here forever." Beru spoke, softly. "Most of her friends are gone. It means so much to her."

"Beru, we have an agreement. She'll get her chance. I promise. But right now, there's work to be done."

"We both know that's not true." She gently rested her hand on his. "You just can't accept the fact that Leia isn't a farmer. She has too much of her father in her."

"I know…" Owen sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."

As Leia entered the garage, she bumped into a gilded protocol droid. "What're you doing in here?"

["It wasn't my fault, madam! Please don't deactivate me!"] 3PO begged. ["He wouldn't listen to reason! He kept babbling on about his 'mission!' He left the farm's perimeter before I could catch him!"]

"Oh, no!" Leia grabbed her binoculars and rushed outside. Unfortunately, the R2-unit was nowhere to be seen. Uncle Owen called out to her, warning that he was shutting the power down. She decided she would take C-3PO to look for R2 in the morning.

Sure enough, the next day Leia and C-3PO were riding in here X-34 landspeeder across the dune sea in search of R2-D2. She was trying to keep clear of the Tusken Raider settlements, knowing how dangerous they were. As they proceeded forward, the scanner picked up a signal coming from a familiar destination.

As a child, Leia was fascinated by the stories Old Ben Kenobi would tell her about the Old Republic's war against the Separatist Confederation. Armies of Battle Droids and Clone Troopers, fighting across the galaxy in a struggle for control. She was shocked to learn that the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic was secretly orchestrating the entire war, waiting for the right moment to seize power. Her uncle had dismissed his claims as dementia, but she always made time to visit him.

Much to her surprise, he was standing right in front of R2-D2, seemingly having a nice conversation. When she pulled up, he greeted her with a bright smile. "Hello there, Leia. Have you come for another story?"

"I'm sorry, Ben." Leia apologized. "This little guy's just giving me some trouble."

"Oh, no, Leia." Ben said, calmly. "If what this droid has told me is true, this is one story you must hear."

The girl curiously followed the old man into his hut and sat down beside him. What he told her next was more fascinating than any story she had heard before. Never, in all her life, would Leia have believed that Anakin Skywalker, her father, was a Jedi Knight. "No, that can't be…" She breathed, excitedly. "My father was a navigator on a spice freighter."

"That's what your uncle told you." Ben corrected. "Truthfully, however, I can't really blame him. He wouldn't want you getting caught up in the same chaotic wars like your father and I did."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?"

"Oh, yes. I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father."

Leia looked down at the ground, sadly. "I wish I'd known him…"

Ben picked up on her sadness as he continued. "He would have been happy to have you in his life. He was the best starpilot in the galaxy. And a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite the pilot yourself." Leia smiled, warmly, at the compliment.

"... and he was a good friend. Which reminds me…" Ben stood up from his seat and opened an old trunk on the other side of the room. When he came back, he was holding a metallic cylinder which he handed to his guest. "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough. Your uncle wouldn't hear of it; afraid you'd follow Old Ben on some damn fool's crusade."

"What is it?" Leia inspected the instrument, meticulously, finding a button on the side.

"Your father's lightsaber. The weapon of the Jedi. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster-" With a sharp hiss, the lightsaber ignited, and a bright pale blue glow lit up the area. Leia was astounded as she swung the blade, carefully. "-and a more elegant weapon for a more civilized era. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times… before the Empire…"

"How did my father die?"

Ben sighed, heavily. His comforting smile was now replaced by an upset frown as he faced the girl again. "The young Jedi known as Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine before he turned evil, helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights… he betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

"The Force?" Leia's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"The Force is what grants the Jedi their power." Ben explained. "It is an ancient and omnipotent energy source that binds the galaxy together. It helps us grow, and flourish… but it can also be used to corrupt and destroy. The Sith-the enemies of the Jedi-wield the dark side of the Force to give themselves power. Just as the Emperor and Vader have."

The elderly man looked back at R2 and tapped him on the dome. "This droid has a message for an Obi-Wan Kenobi." Leia explained. "I heard part of it, and I was wondering if-"

"It seems I've found it." Ben's voice silenced her as a blue hologram of the young man in white robes. The same desperate tone was in his voice.

"Ben Kenobi, last year, you and I met under unorthodox circumstances. But once I had returned to my home planet, I recognized you from my father's stories. You are the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, a great warrior who served my father during the Clone Wars. Now, we need you more than ever. A brave Rebel group managed to steal Imperial data tapes that can turn the tide of this war. I've placed them in this R2-unit. I beg you to take them to my father on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope…"

The message ended, and the hologram vanished. Leia looked, anxiously, at Ben. The old Jedi stroked his beard as he thought about what to make of this message. At last; "You must learn the ways of the Force. If you are to come with me to Alderaan."

"Alderaan?" Leia chuckled, indignantly. "I'm not going to Alderaan. I need to stay here. There's work to be done."

"I need your help, Leia." Ben pleaded. "He needs your help. I'm getting too old for this. The Empire must be defeated."

"Look, it's not that I like the Empire-I hate it-but…" Leia struggled to find the right words. Her mind was still struggling to understand what Ben had told her and the message. The man in white was clearly in danger, but she didn't know how she could help. "I need to stay here."

"That's your uncle talking." Ben corrected. "Come with me, Leia. Learn the ways of the Force."

"Look, I can take you as far as Mos Eisley. You can find a ship there, but my uncle is going to kill me if I'm not back on the farm by mid-day."

"Very well." Ben sighed and followed the young woman back to her speeder. But on their way back to the farm, they came across a demolished sandcrawler. Leia stopped the speeder and the group inspected the wreck.

"Well, there're Raider's staffs and bantha tracks but why would Sand People attack Jawas?"

"They didn't. We are meant to think that they did." Ben surmised. "This was done by a brigade of Stormtroopers. Look; these tracks are side-by-side. Sand People always walk in single-file to hide their numbers. And these blast points are aimed directly at the treads. Too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial troops are so precise."

"But, why would Imperial troops wanna hurt Jawas?" Leia asked.

"Is it not obvious?" Obi-Wan remarked. "They were after these droids."

Leia's heart skipped a beat. The pieces of the puzzle fit together, and a terrible idea crept into her mind. "But… if they traced the droids back here, then they might've learned who the Jawas sold them to, and that would lead them back… home." She whimpered, fearfully, as she raced to her speeder.

"Wait, Leia!" Obi-Wan beckoned. "It's too dangerous!"

But Leia didn't listen. She hopped into the operator's seat of her speeder and rushed back to her farm as quickly as she could. In less than an hour, she saw a pillar of smoke rising up from the only home she ever knew. The speeder came to a halt, and Leia searched through the burnt remains.

"UNCLE OWEN?! AUNT BERU?!" Her voice boomed over the vast moisture farm. "UNCLE OWEN?! AUNT BERU?!"

The poor girl's heart sank when she came upon two charred skeletons lying in the doorway of the hut. Leia clenched her chest as she fell to her knees in agony.

Meanwhile, on the dreaded Death Star, the chief military officers of the Imperial Navy had been summoned by Grand Moff Tarkin. As they waited for their host Commander Cassio Tagge was addressing his usual grievance. "Until this battle station is fully operational, we are vulnerable! The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped! They are far more dangerous than you all would like to believe."

"Dangerous to your starfleet, Commander. Not to this battle station." Admiral Antonio Motti snorted. "The Rebels you're so frightened of are nothing more than a group of ungrateful gnats who dare to oppose the Emperor. They pose no real threat."

"That is exactly what Director Krennic thought! And look what happened to him! The Rebels stole the data tapes to this facility from Scariff under his supervision!"

"Allegedly." Motti retorted. "As far as the rest of the galaxy knows, the Death Star doesn't exist. Jedha and Scariff's incidents been shrugged off as mining accidents. The people of the galaxy always believe what we tell them."

"Whether they believe in this station or not is not the point!" Tagge snapped. "The Rebellion will continue to gain sympathy from the Imperial Senate until-!"

"The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us." Tarkin entered the room, followed by Darth Vader. The two high-ranking officials took their seats as the Grand Moff continued his statement. "I have just received word that the Emperor has disbanded the Senate, permanently. The last remnants of the old Republic have been swept away."

"That's impossible…" Tagge spluttered. He and most of the other officers looked uneasy. "How will Emperor Palpatine maintain control without the bureaucracy?"

"The regional governors now have direct control over their territories." Tarkin spoke with a confident smile. "Fear is how we shall keep the locals in line. Fear of this battle station."

"And what of the Rebellion?" Tagge pressed. "If the rumors are true that the Rebels have, indeed, obtained a complete technical readout of this battle station, it is possible-however unlikely-that they might find a weakness. And exploit it."

"The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands." Vader replied, confidently. "And as for the Rebels, they shall soon be of no concern to you at all. I shall see to it, personally."

While the majority of the Imperial Army practically worshiped Darth Vader as a god, nearly half of the council despised him, due to how close he was to the Emperor. They all had to work hard to get where they were now; they had never even heard of Vader before his arrival, and yet he was the Emperor's right hand. The only person who truly understood why was Tarkin.

"Any attack made by the Rebels would be a useless gesture!" Motti scoffed. "This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it."

"Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." Vader refuted as he rose from his seat. "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

"Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader." Motti mocked. "Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes." Vader stepped closer to the insubordinate officer and lifted his arm. "Or given you clairvoyance enough to help you find the Rebel's' hidden fort-"

Motti's rant was cut off as he struggled to breath. The Imperial officer tugged at the collar of his shirt as he gasped for air. "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Vader chuckled.

"Vader!" Tarkin scolded, prompting the Sith Lord to release his grip.

"As for the Rebels…" Vader continued. "They will not be a threat for long." He set a holo-device on the table and tapped the center button. Suddenly, a holographic figure stood before the assembly. He was a young man with a sinister, menacing scowl. He wore traditional Sith robes upon his shoulders and two lightsabers on his belt. "This is my new apprentice, Galen Marek. Inquisitor Starkiller. He will find the Rebels and end them."

The hologram disappeared, and Vader promptly left the room. "This is getting out of hand!" Commander Tagge spoke up. "The other Inquisitors were problematic, enough! Now, Vader has taken one as his apprentice?!"

"Don't be so daft, Tagge." Tarkin rolled his eyes. "Lord Vader uses anyone he can at his disposal to fulfill the Emperor's orders. Just as we do. This meeting is pointless. Now, we shall proceed as planned with this battle station, continue with Prince Organa's interrogation, followed by his immediate execution, and the Rebels will be crushed once and for all."

"But nothing we do will get him to talk!" Tagge argued. "His will is too strong."

"He will talk, my friends." Tarkin grinned. "Once he witnesses the full power of this battle station. Set a course for Alderaan."

Author's Notes: Galen Marek is the protagonist of the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. How different will his fate be in this fool's story?! Up next, Old Ben takes Leia to meet new friends and go to new places!